


Did It Again

by MinaWritesFanfiction



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-08
Updated: 2012-06-08
Packaged: 2017-11-07 06:46:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/428110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinaWritesFanfiction/pseuds/MinaWritesFanfiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <div class="center">
  <p><a href="http://s849.photobucket.com/albums/ab52/MayumiR/Banners/?action=view&current=Diditagain.jpg"><img/></a><br/>Isabella only wanted to make art with her lovers, until reality came crashing down.<br/>Will she be able to face the heartache head on or will she go back to her old ways? </p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	Did It Again

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Fandom for Texas Wildfire Relief  
> Betas: LaMomo and Efeltwr  
> Banner Designer: IllicitWriter
> 
> Did it again, love, I got it all wrong  
> but it felt so right I can't believe it.  
> And all the mistakes that went on for too long  
> Wish there was a way I could delete them.  
> ~ Did it Again by Shakira

Black tie events were a must-attend in my line of work. As the owner of one of the most successful advertisement companies in this city, I knew image was everything. That was why I was very careful to portray only one image of myself to my peers. As I looked around, noticing the same old people mingling and talking about the perfect, amazing and successful lives they had, I couldn't help but feel sick of the lies these people were so badly trying to sell.

I couldn't comprehend how they thought they could fool their so-called friends, when they couldn't even fool themselves. I had only taken four steps inside this room and already I had spotted three adulterous husbands (one of them with a preference for young boys), four alcoholic housewives, a couple into extreme kinky foursome sex and the cookie cutter couple who had no fucking clue that one of their sons liked to take it up his ass by the same man they were talking to.

Like I said, sick.

Appearances could be so deceiving, and I knew that, in order to make it in this city, you had to guard yourself up with high walls and the thickest armor. What these people in this room saw in me was the sexy, confident and successful entrepreneur I had become at my young age. They saw the woman that could stand in front of a boardroom with men twice her age and, with only one look, demanded and gained respect. What they didn't see (because I was a hundred times better at hiding my secrets in this city) was the woman that enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh and that had at least five lovers… at the same time.

Don't get me wrong, my lovers knew what they were getting themselves into once I approached them. I was faithful to all my lovers and I never brought someone new into my bed unless I desired a new lover. They knew I just didn't do monogamy.

You had me the way I was, or you simply left my sight.

As simple as that.

Now, I was by no means a whore or a nympho. I had always been confident enough in my own skin to appreciate that sex can be considered an art, and I  _loved_  making fucking art. Like a painting, sex could be unique in the perspective of the artist, and I enjoyed variety in every way that it came.

Pun intended.

Every lover was my painter and I was the canvas.

Right now, I was low on painters. One of my lovers, a golden-haired doctor, had recently met the love of his life. I let him go. I knew love complicated things, and if he was stupid enough to believe in such childish ideas like true love, he had no business with me. I was pragmatic and knew love was only an illusion.

I had learned my lesson the hard way and I never looked back.

I was jolted from my thoughts by a pair of soft lips softly touching my neck.

"Would you like something to drink,  _dogoroi_?"

I smirked and nodded.

Yes, love was the illusion, what was real was what I could touch and control.

Sex, passion, desire, lust… these were the emotions that really controlled our minds and bodies.

It was what I looked for in my lovers.

And this evening I was with a personal favorite: Demetri.

He was my tall, dark and handsome Russian lover. His aquamarine eyes were gorgeous, and they were even more beautiful when I looked down on them, his face between my legs. Demetri had a very talented tongue and fingers. He was the type of lover who enjoyed taking his time to explore every inch of your skin until he finally allowed himself to let go and fucked the living daylights out of you. My pussy was always sore for at least two days after a night with him.

He was a personal favorite, yes, but I tended to not let any of my lovers monopolize my time, and like the others, he knew about my multiple partners.

I didn't kept secrets, those just complicated everything.

However, I did keep them on a tight leash. I even made them sign a confidentiality agreement that would practically made me the owner of their mind, body and soul if they ever dared speak of our relationship.

Like I said, I knew exactly what I was doing.

I was no fool by any means.

Demetri was aware that, because I'd brought him as my date tonight, he would not be going home with me. It wouldn't be fair to the others for him to spend that much time in my company. Besides, I knew that at least two of my other lovers were attending this event and I was planning to leave with one of them instead.

_And speaking of the devil…_

I smirked as I saw Irina walk to my table as soon as Demetri stood up to get my drink. I was certain she would make a move in order for me to pick her as the one I took to my bed this evening. She was insatiable and I really enjoyed that about her. She sashayed straight to me and sat down in the empty seat at my left. Maintaining our façade of best friends, we air-kissed each other and started talking about the new fall collection by Narciso Rodriguez, while secretly her right hand caressed the skin exposed through the opening of my dress.

Irina was another interesting  _artist_  in my small and private collection. Unlike Demetri, she had no patience. When she was horny and wanted to fuck, she didn't hesitate and did everything in her power to get exactly what she wanted.

And she wanted me.

That was why I could feel Irina's fingers going up my thigh right now, and I bit my lip holding back a moan when she found my bare pussy lips. Irina knew I never wore underwear with my dresses (I hated panty lines) and she was taking full advantage of it now. She stroked me with her long elegant fingers and I took a deep breath to stop from moaning loudly. I grabbed her wrist firmly to stop her and she smirked at me.

I leaned in to ask her to meet me in the ladies' room, thinking that I could quench her desire and then take Alec, my other lover who was watching me from the bar, to my apartment downtown. It wouldn't be the first time I had been with three different lovers in one evening, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. I was sure they would all be satisfied with the outcome.

Plans started forming in my head: taking Irina to the bathroom, finger-fucking her and then asking Alec to take me home.

That was, until I saw  _him._

Now, you must know that I had a very specific standard when choosing a possible lover.

If  _you_  had seen this man, you would have noticed how sexy he looked in his classical cut tuxedo. You would have swooned over his crooked smile and begged to run your hands through his bronze-colored locks. You would have given anything to feel those plump pink lips against your skin and those long elegant fingers inside you.

But  _I_ was not  _you_.

What I saw were his eyes, but not because they were the most beautiful emerald green I had ever seen. Oh, no… His eyes caught my attention for the simple fact that he was practically eye-fucking every single woman with a killer pair of legs in less than two seconds flat.

I saw a man that exuded raw sex.

He was like a caged animal waiting to be released, and guess what?

I had a master key for that kind of cage.

Yes, he was a man with wandering eyes.

I had met this kind before, but I was stupid and naïve back then.

_Should I risk it again?_

_What the hell, tonight I'll take a ride on the wild side._

_  
_

"FUCK!" I screamed as he tilted his hips and his cock hit my pussy right on  _that spot_.

We had teased each other for the entire ride to my apartment.

In fact, I had almost blown him when he escorted me to the sexiest car I had ever seen.

It was black, sleek and such a turn-on.

During the whole ride to my apartment, I had teased him with my hand on his muscular thigh, going up and down, slow and fast, never touching him where he wanted me the most.

He was a serious driver; I gave him that.

He never took his hands off the wheel.

He was also very chivalrous; he opened doors, helped me put on my coat and always put his hand on the small of my back when we walked side by side. But as soon as the door of my apartment closed, he pressed me against it and hiked my dress over my waist. He thanked me for not wearing panties and without me even noticing that his pants were already at his ankles, he rammed his cock into me, making me scream.

I was so wet by then, that he was able to slide in easily, but fuck me, if he wasn't as big as I had thought. Unfortunately, I couldn't see his magnificent cock because of my dress, but he must be at least ten inches long and big enough that my hand would probably not be able to wrap around it completely.

I wanted to see it.

I wanted to suck it.

I wanted to fucking worship it.

He was so deep inside me, like no one had ever been before.

I felt full and so fucking  _good_.

I could tell he was a new kind of  _artist_  I had never encountered before, like a perfect gentlemen with a wild, sex-crazed animal inside.

His hands were kneading my ass cheeks and his mouth was attached to my neck. He growled when he couldn't reach my nipples because of my dress and with his teeth he ripped one of the straps.

I gasped in surprised, and then squealed when his talented tongue assaulted my nipple.

He only gave me a little time to adjust, and then he started to fuck me like there was no tomorrow against the door. He barked at me to hold on tight as he grabbed the top of the doorframe and then rammed his cock in a forceful and long stroke.

"Oh, my God!" I screamed.

He kept thrusting like that, over and over again.

Hard.

Deep.

Fast.

Again and again and again…

I couldn't keep the moans from pouring out of me when he hit spots that I had never known existed inside of me.

"Jesus. Fucking. Christ!" I moaned loudly when the combined sensations of his tongue and cock consumed me completely.

"The name is Edward, beautiful. Neither Jesus nor God can make you feel this good," he whispered sexily in my ear.

This man was going to be the death of me.

After one particular hard thrust, he rotated his hips, grinding hard against my clit, only to pull back and thrust back in slow and hard.

Thrust. Grind. Pull. Thrust. Grind. Pull.

Hard. Slow. Stop. Hard. Slow. Stop.

I became unable to form a single word; this man was playing my body like no one had ever done before. I was constantly on edge, feeling what could possibly be the most powerful orgasm I had ever had building in my core.

The only sounds coming out of my mouth were moans, whimpers, cusses and fucking keening.

Caged between his hard body and the door, I was completely at his mercy.

He released his right hand from the doorframe and hooked my left leg over his elbow.

The new position allowed him to go deeper and I felt like he was consuming me.

I closed my eyes as shockwaves of pleasure shot through my body.

He fucked me hard. He never stopped until he finally brought me to ecstasy.

I felt the orgasm approaching fast and he growled in my ear. "Let me feel your tight, wet pussy coming all over my cock…. NOW!"

And I did.

I came and came… and fucking came.

He threw his head back and roared as his orgasm hit him.

My vision was filled with black spots and I thought I had passed out for a minute there.

Now I understood why the French call orgasms 'la petite mort'.

It was hard, fast and all-consuming.

It was the best fuck I'd had in my life.

The only thing I could think of was one word.

"Again."

 

 

_**Six months later…** _

 

I felt the cold breeze from the open balcony doors caress my naked back, cooling me down.

I felt completely blissed out of my mind.

It had been six months since I met Edward, and it seemed that, since then, I had broken every single rule I had set for myself. I had broken up with all my partners. I didn't make Edward sign the confidentiality agreement. I even introduced Edward as my boyfriend to business partners, when I used to only introduce my companions as 'dates'. This man had changed me completely and I couldn't even begin to understand when it all began.

Warm, calloused hands slid softly on my back, thumbs rubbing gently across my spine.

I hummed in contentment.

"Shouldn't we get out of this bed and go sightseeing sometime soon?" he whispered in my ear.

"Do you want to?" I murmured against his jaw as I nibbled a path to his ear lobe and bit it gently.

He growled, "Fuck sightseeing."

I rolled around and looked up at him hovering over me, "Why not better fuck me instead?" I smiled coyly, but then sobered up quickly, feeling my chest bubbling with emotions that I had been able to suppress until now.

I lifted my head and kissed the corner of his mouth and, in an act of rare vulnerability from me, I shyly asked, "Edward, make love to me?"

This feelings thing was so new to me, but I knew that I had fallen in love with this man.

It was confusing, exhilarating and downright scary.

I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

Edward leaned down, our foreheads touching, and his eyes closed.

My hands couldn't stay away from his skin, so smooth along his ribs, hard and contoured over his chest and stomach, and so strong up and down his back.

It wasn't enough for me, so I tilted my head slowly, pressing my lips to his as my fingers dipped stealthily just under the waistband of his underwear at the small of his back.

"Wait."

I froze.

I pulled back to look at his face, "Something wrong, Edward?"

He sighed, his face unreadable.

He pulled back and sat down at the edge of the bed, his back to me, grabbing and pulling his hair.

He mumbled something I didn't catch and then he was up, pacing, frowning and cussing. Every now and then he would give me a look, but then he would go back to his brooding.

I sat in the bed, frozen, and not knowing what to do. I had never seen him like this, so conflicted, so troubled.

He finally let out a deep breath and turned to face me. He stood there, with a determined look on his face, but something was wrong.

He was no longer  _my_  Edward; instead, he was cold, closed off, almost cruel and angry.

_Something is not right…_

"Edward?" my voice shook, and I hated myself a little for it.

He eyes softened and sighed.

He sat down back on the edge of the bed, facing me, "I need to make a call, wait for me, okay?"

I could only nod, not understating his mood swings.

He gave me a small kiss on the lips and walked out of the room without a glance back.

I was confused.

I had noticed for a while that Edward was feeling conflicted about something. I chalked it up to a work problem. Edward was a very successful broker, but with the economy the way it was right now, he was losing clients, most of them too afraid of the instability to invest. He had also been getting phone calls at all hours of the day for the past two weeks, and he was always in a foul mood afterwards.

I wrapped the bed sheet around my body tighter and stood up. I could hear Edward's muffled voice talking and I decided to go take a shower.

I took my time and when I walked out of the bathroom, I couldn't hear Edward anymore. I felt a little hungry so I picked up the phone to order something for us to eat.

I should have known that good things never came freely to me. There was always a price to pay, and this time, the price would be too high.

As I put he phone against my ear I heard Edward talking to another man, I was about to excuse myself and hang up, until I heard my name from Edward. I was shocked more by his tone than by what he was actually saying, at first.

It was hatred. Full, unadulterated contempt dripping from his voice.

I froze with the phone against my ear until the meaning of the conversation penetrated my mind.

" _I DON'T CARE! I hired you for this! You were supposed to be the best!"_

I heard Edward give a frustrated sigh,  _"Well, plans changed, James. I want more."_

" _Don't fuck with me, Cullen. You will do what you were told in the time stipulated by the price we agreed on! Isabella Swan must be punished for what she did to my brother!"_

Hired? Paid? Punished?

Had Edward been deceiving me all alone?

I could feel my heart start to shatter, but I held myself together. I needed to get to the bottom of this. I need to know before I gave in to the pain that was threatening to consume me.

_Edward… my Edward… please, don't do this to me._

Edward's bored voice caught my attention again,  _"Are you sure that what happened was her fault to begin with?"_

The man on the other side of the line growled,  _"Are fucking kidding me, Cullen? Since when did you start playing the devil's advocate? I don't care what you think, but Riley was never as broken as he was right after_ she _dumped him for that fancy Russian asshole."_

I clapped a hand over my mouth, holding back a gasp.

_Riley…_

I remembered him.

He was a former lover of mine, but I didn't dump him. He broke up with me and left with my other lover, Bree. I was actually happy for them; they were in love and wanted to elope.

Bree had been a high-class prostitute for a few years before I met her. She needed the money to pay for med school. I had asked Bree to tell her Madam to set a price for me to pay her, so she could become one of my lovers. I had freed her from that world.

I knew Riley's family wouldn't be pleased with their son eloping with a former prostitute, so I helped them. It was all secretly planned. They were to get married in Chicago and then go live in Tuscany, managing one the vineyards I owned there, but something happened.

The last thing I heard, Riley was telling me he was sorry and that he wished me the best.

I never really knew what became of him and Bree.

I had assumed they were together and decided to remain in the States.

I guess that didn't happen.

This man… James, who apparently was Riley's brother, blamed me for something that happened to Riley. He said he was broken, but he was happy to leave me!

What was going on?

What did Edward have to do with any of this?

" _You better keep your end of the bargain, Cullen. I don't go throwing around a quarter of a million dollars just for fun. I want Isabella shattered, rendered helpless and broken-hearted like she left Riley all those years ago!"_

James hung up after that.

I made sure Edward had also hung up before I pressed the end button on the phone.

I was numb.

I'd been such a fool.

Here I thought I had finally found  _the one._

I thought I was finally going to get my happily ever after.

How could I have been so stupid?

I should have known better than to fall in love.

I fucking knew better!

Yet, here I was… once again.

Rage and hurt coursed through my veins and I threw the phone against the wall. As it shattered into pieces, I couldn't help but to compare it to the way my heart now laid in my chest.

Broken and damaged beyond repair.

I heard Edward knock on the door.

" _Bella? Are you okay, love?"_

Love…

Stupid love.

My mother was right all along.

Love only brought you euphoria while you had it, and pain to last a lifetime when it was over.

I had been so stupid to believe in the fairy tale, and now reality came crashing down on me.

I marched up to the closet, not bothering to acknowledge the man standing on the other side of the door. A man I thought I knew, but was a complete stranger in reality.

A sob tried to escape me, but I pushed it down.

I wouldn't cry over him.

He didn't deserve my tears.

He already had my heart in the palm of his hand.

And he'd broken it for a quarter of a million dollars.

Hurt.

Rage.

Anger.

Yes, I needed to focus on those emotions in order to survive what was coming next.

I put on the first dress I had in reach, it was blood red and made of the most exquisite satin. I pulled my hair back in a tight bun and did my make-up. I put on my shoes, one at a time. I grabbed all my clothes, not caring about wrinkles or anything, and threw them inside the suitcase. I packed quickly and silently, trying to hold back the tears that were clouding my vision.

I could hear Edward outside the bedroom doing something… I didn't know what, nor did I care.

As soon as I finished packing my bags and made sure I had everything ready, I called the front desk from my cell phone and asked for a car. I took out the present I had bought from my purse and considered crashing it like I did to the phone, but thought better of it. I wanted to keep it, as a reminder of today, of my mistake.

A mistake that I vowed to make never again.

I grabbed the bags and, when I reached the bedroom door, I tried to steel myself. I needed to bring the walls back up. I needed to be the Isabella I used to be. I needed to be the cutthroat and cold-hearted bitch I had left in the red satin sheets of my bed weeks ago when I realized I felt something more for Edward. I needed to be who I was always meant to be.

_You are more than that mask you use, Bella. I see you clearly._

I shut my eyes tightly, trying to erase his words from my mind.

Lies, they were all lies.

He was never real.

He was only doing his job.

I was his job.

Oh, God… I was his  _job._

I took a sharp breath, I felt the tears leave my treacherous eyes and I growled in anger at myself. I used to have better control of my emotions, what the fuck had he done to me!

He had broken down my walls and left me weak and unprotected. All the warm love I felt for him turned into cold hatred.

I hated him.

I HATED him.

I HATED HIM.

With a new-found determination to not let him ruin me, I opened the door.

What waited for me outside was not exactly what I expected.

Candles and flowers… everywhere.

In all kinds and different colors: white primroses, yellow daffodils, pink camellias, purple hyacinths, and red roses.

I dropped the bags and clapped both of my hands over my mouth.

Sobs wracked through me as I took in the scene in front of me.

How many times had Edward asked me which was my favorite flower?

How many times had I told him that it wasn't about the flower, but the meaning?

His message here was loud and clear.

_I can't live without you… You're the only one… I'm longing for you._

_Please forgive me._

_I love you._

Edward stood in the middle of the room, the room's phone in hand. His expression was solemn, but firm. He showed me the phone, giving me a light nod of acknowledgement, and then tossed it on the couch.

I understood then what this was all about.

"You knew I was listening…"

Edward sat down on one of the armchairs, elbows on his knees, fingers tented against his lips. He looked straight into my eyes and nodded.

"Why?"

Why had he done all of this?

Why had he sought me out in the first place?

How did he get involved in all this?

I needed to know everything.

Edward sighed and sat back on the armchair. "At first, it was all about the money. James… the man I was talking to, he became my partner in the firm after I made some wrong investments a few years ago. I almost lost everything. James helped me out, brought me back up, but I still wasn't where I used to be..."

Money.

I had never hated that word more than I did now.

I sat down on a chair, near the bedroom door. "What changed?"

"You… me…. Everything!" he laughed without humor, his hands pulling his hair.

"I need to know-" my voice cracked and I saw pain flash through his eyes, but I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I need to know the truth, Edward. I need you to tell me the truth, please," I pleaded.

"I will tell you everything, Bella. All you have to do is ask."

So I did.

I asked my questions and he answered honestly.

James had planned it all.

It seemed that Riley had left for Chicago all alone and drowned himself in alcohol and drugs. He was so broken that he tried to kill himself with an overdose of painkillers, but James had found him in time. He checked him in into a rehab facility, but Riley was never the same again after the overdose, he became numb and refused to speak to anyone from the family. James set him up in a nice home in L.A., where he was currently living, alone.

A year after what happened with Riley, James had seen me during a benefit and was enraged that I looked completely unfazed by what I had supposedly done to his brother. James then sought Edward out, knowing about his reputation with women and remembering how he always used to brag about being able to seduce even the impossible ones.

"That wasn't me anymore, after what happened with my company… well, let's just say that was a very humbling experience, but James wouldn't hear a word of it. He wanted revenge, he wanted you to suffer and he wanted to break you. I admit that, when I first heard what happened, I was all for it. Riley was like a little brother to me, and James had filled my head with ideas of payback. So, we made a plan, we needed to find a way in to your circle of friends."

Edward told me how he'd heard Alec brag about the 'beautiful swan' he was seeing at the time in the gym's sauna. Edward knew immediately that he was talking about me; he knew that was a nickname my lovers had for me, since James had often heard Riley call me that through the phone. Edward then set out to befriend Alec and as time went by, he gained his trust and even did a few investments for him, which granted him access into his social life, so that he could attend the same events as Alec, knowing that I would be there.

"So, you stalked me?" I asked, appalled that I was under such scrutiny.

"Actually, the first time I ever went to an event with Alec that you attended as well was the night I met you. James warned me that I shouldn't be the one to seduce you, that I should let you seduce me."

"It worked, didn't it? I did pick you up that night." I huffed in disappointment, not at him, but at myself. I had been so easy to get to, and I didn't even know it.

"Bella, that might be true, but I chose to let you seduce me. I chose to leave with you. And if I remember correctly, I was a very willing participant."

I could see he was being sincere, but I still needed to know more.

"Did you ever mean it? What you said to me?"

He stood up and walked towards me. I straightened my back and watched him kneel in front of me.

"I meant every single word," he grabbed my small hands in both of his, "every single touch," he kissed my knuckles, "and every single kiss."

I bit my bottom lip as I let the tears fall down from my eyes. I thought back to every moment we had together, to very night we'd spent between the sheets, to every day we'd spent exchanging at least one phone call when our schedules kept us too busy. I thought of how patient he'd been with me, when I let him in little by little. I thought of all those moments we had talking about our lives.

And I knew…

He was real.

He was honest.

He was not deceiving me.

"I believe you," I whispered, the words flowing surprisingly easy from my lips.

He let out a relieved breath and kissed both my hands. He then pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and gave it to me. The action made me smile a little.

"You know when it all changed for me?" he asked, still kneeling.

I shook my head, sniffling and wiping my tears away.

"Remember when you took me to see you parents' grave?"

I nodded.

I was my parents' death anniversary, I was already starting to feel more for Edward and I didn't want to go alone. I had already broken up with my other lovers, but I hadn't told Edward about it. I had taken him with me to my parents' graves and he held me against him to keep me warm during that windy day. I had talked to my parents like I always did and that was the first time I talked about Edward as more than just a lover.

"When you started to tell your parents about me…" he shook his head and a small smile appeared across his lips, "I was overwhelmed, I knew then that I felt more for you, and I knew that I was about to face the biggest challenge of my life. I had to find a way to tell you the truth and, at the same time, make you see that everything that happened between us was real."

He cupped my face with both of his hands, his thumbs gracing softly across my cheeks, "What we have is real, Bella. It was on that day that I realized I had fallen truly and irrevocably in love with you."

His eyes were so tender and sincere and I knew that he was telling the truth.

"I had no idea, Edward. I swear. I didn't know about any of this." I buried my face in my hands, "I thought he was with Bree, I thought he was happy with her…"

"Bree?"

I looked back at Edward, "Riley's fiancée. He left me, Edward. He wanted to marry her. Bree was also one of my lovers, but she and I were more like friends than lovers. The three of us would often go out together, that's how I knew of Riley's feelings for Bree. I helped them get to Chicago, knowing Riley's father would never let them get married if he knew about it."

Edward frowned, "I haven't even heard of this girl before."

"I'm not surprised. No one knew, actually." I sighed and stood up. "I need to speak to him; I need to know what happened with Bree."

Edward stood up and stroke my face softly, "I can take you there if you want."

"Thank you."

"Do you think- I mean, can you ever forgive me, Bella?"

I took a step closer to him, my hands trailing up and down his arms. Looking straight into his eyes I whispered, "I'll forgive you, if you forgive me."

"You have done me no wrong, beautiful."

"I doubted you," I said looking the discarded suitcases on the floor.

"After what you heard, how could you not?" He tilted my chin up with his index finger until my eyes met his. "I knew that I took a chance when I set this up, but I had no other choice. I needed you to hear it and I prayed that you would let me explain."

I circled my arms around his waist, burrowing my face in his chest, "We still need to talk more-"

"I know," he sighed, kissing the top of my head.

"-but right now, all I want is to feel you close to me."

He let out a harsh breath, "Oh, my love. That's all I want, too."

He kissed me tenderly and then carried me to the center of the room.

That night, on the soft living room rug and surrounded by the flowers that expressed our feelings, we made love for the first time.

Edward was gentle and passionate with me. He rediscovered every inch of me with his lips and fingers. I reciprocated every caress and kiss with the same passion. I finally understood what making love was all about. The moment he entered me, I felt complete for the first time in my life. We became one, physically and emotionally. I belonged to him; he belonged to me, and there was no barrier standing between us anymore. When we came undone, our eyes remained locked in each other's showing the same feelings that were coursing through us.

Desire.

Passion.

Need.

Love.

It was perfect.

We were perfect.

Later in the night, as the candles went out one by one, I gave him the watch I had purchased for him, our initials engraved on the back. And as I helped him put it on, I uttered the words I never thought I would be capable to form.

"I love you, Edward."

 

 

_**Two weeks later…** _

 

"Hello, beautiful swan."

I smiled, "Hello, Riley."

He looked good, but his face held such deep sadness and loneliness.

It broke my heart to see him like this.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me, Ry."

He sighed and shook his head, "I knew you would find out, eventually. I just didn't want to be the bearer of the bad news."

After that night that Edward came out with James's plan of revenge, we had both gone straight to Edward's house to get the money James had paid him in order to break my heart; he hadn't spent it and kept it stashed in his safe. Then, together, we went to meet James in his office.

That meeting was not at all as I thought it would be.

James had remained silent as Edward explained to him everything that had happened since he met me, and then I told James everything I knew about Riley and how our break-up really went. I made sure to look him in the eye as I spoke with a firm voice.

As I thought, James had no idea about Bree and he decided to do some diggings on his own. He didn't take the money back from Edward and even apologized for even coming up with the whole revenge plan when he realized he didn't know all the facts.

It proved to me that not everyone was so black and white.

It proved that we were all capable of redeeming ourselves.

James contacted me later that week, and the news he had for me were far worse than I thought.

Apparently, Riley had used his credit card to purchase the plane tickets to Chicago, and his father had seen the purchase. Being the control freak he always was when it came to his children, Mr. Hall had hired a person to follow Riley to Chicago. When Mr. Hall found out of the reason of his son's trip, he ordered to have the couple separated. Things went from bad to ugly in an instant, and in an attempt to escape from his father's clutches, Riley had crashed his car outside of Chicago.

Bree died in that accident.

After Riley was discharged from the hospital with a broken collarbone, he cut off all ties with his family; he blamed solely his father for his misery. With time, Riley developed an addiction to painkillers and finally sought out to kill himself. He withdrew all the money from his trust fund and sent it to Bree's mother, who still lived in a small town in Georgia, and kept a small amount to buy the pills he needed to end his life.

The money withdrawal was what alerted James, since he was in charge of managing his siblings' accounts. He quickly left for Chicago and got there just in time to save Riley.

That night, I cried while Edward held me tight in his arms, giving me the support and comfort I needed. I was appalled by my own selfishness; I regretted how I'd so easily washed my hands of Riley and Bree, once I'd cut ties with them. Edward tried to tell me that I wasn't responsible for what happened, but the guilt was still there, heavy on my chest. I knew I had to see Riley and ask for his forgiveness. I wanted him to know that I wasn't cold-hearted anymore; that I cared and understood what he'd gone through.

I was looking for absolution from my past sins.

That was how, a couple of weeks later, I found myself sitting in a park bench under the Californian sun with Riley next to me.

We talked, for hours.

He told me everything he'd gone through, and I patiently listened to him.

The heartache he'd felt was devastating and I couldn't stop the tears running down my cheeks. He told me about the accident and about Bree's death. How everything had just spiraled out of control and eventually, how he couldn't handle the pain.

"But you are better now, right?" I asked, looking at the girl that was throwing bread to the ducks in the pond.

"Yes, Renata has been a blessing in disguise." His face showed the first real smile, and I could see that with time, the sadness that clouded his eyes would dissipate.

"Well, I wish you all the best then."

He smiled and looked me in the eye for a long moment until he finally spoke gain, "You did it again, didn't you?"

I smiled, "Yes."

"And it wasn't wrong this time."

I shook my head, "No, it always felt right."

"Then I'm happy for you, Bella." He grabbed my hand and squished it lightly, "And it wasn't your fault. It never was. What Jacob did to you… he never deserved you. I hope you can see that now."

I bit my lip, trying to hold back more tears. My throat was too tight to talk, so I simply nodded.

"Good. That man Edward is one lucky guy."

I gave him a knowing smile, but didn't say anything.

I was the lucky one.

I had found love and, for the first time, I didn't trip and fall.

When it came to men, I always ended up choosing wrong. I was so blind when I first met Jacob and missed every time he hid his ring. Looking back, I had been so naive imagining a happy life with Jacob, and I was stupid to believe his lies.

When he left, I became a shell of my former self.

I put the walls up so high that I thought no one would be able to get them down, ever again.

Until Edward came along.

He helped me delete all the mistakes I'd made for so long.

He helped me see the real woman I was meant to be.

He helped me realize that I was not alone.

I was his.

He was mine.

Never alone.

Never again.


End file.
